Exxon To Invest $600M Into Algae-Based Biofuels
15 July 2009 | Green News | 3 Comments
Finally some green tendencies from oil companies. Despite opposing for years the idea of renewable energy, the oil giant Exxon Mobile Corporation, with a 2008 revenue of $442.9 billion and the distinction of “the most profitable company in the world” acquireing $45.2 billion last year, announced a $600M “injection” into algae-based biofuel research.
Together with Synthetic Genomics Inc., a company concerned with biotechnology, Exxon hopes to advance an oil alternative after thorough research, producing biofuel out of waste water, sunlight and photosynthetic processes.
Algae-based biofuels couldn’t be any “greener”. This incredible microorganisms are a miracle of nature. Although not welcomed in garden ponds or fish aquariums, algaes are able to help fight a number of diseases such as AIDS, heart problems and cancer, help detoxify the body or boost the immune system. Besides that, if to be used as a fuel, it will not contaminate fresh water supplies, it is biodegradable and does not harm the environment. Algaes produce 15-300 15-300 times more oil per acre than the crops used today for biofuel, such as rapeseed. Also, it has a small harvesting cycle of only 1-10 days and grows 30 times faster than food crops. Another very important benefit of using algae as a biofuel is for the environment, because it helps reduce the CO2 emissions, during the process of photosynthesis. If the research will pay off, then they will overcome the today’s difficulties of controlled growth and efficient harvest.
The collaboration with Synthetic Genomics Inc. will last five to six years, and involves creating a research site in San Diego to analyse the complex process of algae growth and come up with efficiency oil extraction methods. Other billions of dollars will follow, if all goes well, to make it available to the public.
“The world faces a significant challenge to supply the energy required for economic development and improved standards of living while managing greenhouse gas emissions and the risks of climate change,” noted Emil Jacobs, vice president of Exxon Mobil Research and Engineering Co. at the official announcement, in regard to the companies surprise shift.
But other oil companies share their interest into this new, possibly fuel of the future. CEO and president of OriginOil Inc. expressed his opinion:
“A couple years ago, the petroleum institute said there’s only a couple of years left for oil, and now they’re really finally acting on that. “; “Algae is the feedstock to overtake petroleum. It’s the real alternative to petroleum.”
Although the future of biofuel is getting brighter, still many hinders need to be prevailed. Biofuels got some attention trough the new RFS program regulations, that expended the renewable fuel volume to 36 billion gallons by 2022. But this is too prohibitive, and it will cause technology improvement to halt, making alternative energies, such as algae-based biofuel unavailable, thinks Jeff Bingaman, the Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources.
“Algae-based fuels are the most obvious example, which, despite having characteristics superior to any renewable fuels in commercial production today, have no home in the RFS,” he added.
Tags: algae, algae-based, alternative energies, biodegradable, Biofuels, biotechnology, Co2 emissions, efficiency, Environment, Exxon, fuel, green, growth, photosynthesis, renewable, Renewable Energy, research, RFS
[...] But people have acknowledged the great potential of this organism, and after trying to develop a algae-based biofuel or building solar cells out of single-celled algae its time for the algaes to get involved in [...]
depending on fossil fuel is always a bad idea, we should always concentrate on renewable energy ‘”,
Yes Richards, renewable energy will save the world!